The present invention is directed toward an apparatus for retaining wires or cables.
Many rechargeable battery-operated devices, such as a mobile device, come with an alternating current (AC) charger that in many instances remains plugged into the same wall outlet on a daily basis, and quite often is placed on a piece of furniture, such as a table, night stand or desk, while charging. This wire or cord, terminated on one end by a connector configured to engage the mobile device, can often fall out of reach behind the piece of furniture when not in use, resulting in inconvenience for the user.
Products currently available that can assist in retaining a wire have various shortcomings. A wire tie with an adhesive-backed mounting base can be used to anchor a wire to a flat surface. However, such wire ties are limited in the number of times they can be used, and often can only be used once. This does not work well for a mobile device charger which needs to be removed from one outlet and used in a different location. Alternative products available for routing cables are large and cumbersome, and often require a table top surface for mounting such that they cannot be mounted elsewhere, such as a side surface of a table or a wall. These alternative products also do not allow for maintaining one or more wires or cords in an organized fashion when their movement is not restrained and alternating into and out of such a restrained position in an easy manner.
A need exists for a wire retaining product that is compact, can be easily and discretely mounted, and has the dual functionality of allowing retention or capture of the wire in one mode and allowing movement of the wire in another mode.